Metro Utd + Potomac + DC Stoddert

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 average clubs geographically separated in a market saturated by better clubs...looks like all of MU’s problems are sorted.

US Soccer must be thrilled.

Actually, these sorts of relationships are exactly what US Soccer wants. They want as wide a net cast as possible at the younger ages while letting the local clubs handle the development without to much DA oversight. This is why they are eliminating the U12 age groups on the boys side. They want access to the players without the heavy handed approach that the DA as a league places at such young ages.

Clubs like Metro, VDA, Baltimore Armour essentially have first dibs on the players those clubs produce. The clubs will lose the talent either way but if they can demonstrate a built in pathway they stand a chance to attract more talent, not all of whom will make DA or ECNL but are still more likely to stay. The positives for the partnership clubs is the potential for larger rec and youth programs overall.

The advantage for the DA club is early access to the players as well as access to the fields.

FCV sat on top of Ashburn as well as had a similar relationship with South County. Neither of which where/are big clubs. FCV also had a short lived partnership with Loudoun. All of these partnerships fed quality players into FCV's ECNL and later DA teams.

VDA has produced a pretty successful program on the shoulders of VSA and PWSI. The younger age groups at VDA are proving that the model is successful at drawing talent in and retaining players within the system while each partner club has been able to maintain competitive NPL teams individually.

Baltimore Armour is certainly rounding the corner and clubs like Pipeline do not appear to be suffering the loss of players to DA as their EDP teams are quite good on their own.

All of this while casting the net wider to players who may often go overlooked.

So will a club/coach encourage their better players to move to DA? These clubs/coaches make money by keeping the good kids on their teams and winning. Seems like you are asking the club/coach to go against their own interest. Having experiences travel, let’s see if it works in practice.

Generally speaking yes, MU is a good answer for clubs looking for a relationship with where their players end up at. Another poster already mentioned those clubs lose players after U13. That has been my experience as well. As a player approaches high school, they start deciding what type of player they want to be. That's MU's market. MU is not seeking to be a complete club for all levels. It's for that smaller top of the pyramid for girls who want more and who because of that find no value in wasting a spring on high school soccer. Nothing wrong with high school. Nothing wrong with ECNL, NPL or EDP. It's about choices (and also talent as well as not every player is cut out for it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a newbie, please be kind. Does this mean that we have better chances of making Mu Da team if we played for GFR’s top team from u9-U12s?

I think in the long run, probably. It's a natural consequence of the connection. GFR is looking to MU to offer some training to those players and the association will get them a quicker look. In the end, all DA teams will generally pick the best players from the overall pool of girls looking to play for it. MU will likely also form a closer connection with its other partners too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a newbie, please be kind. Does this mean that we have better chances of making Mu Da team if we played for GFR’s top team from u9-U12s?

I think in the long run, probably. It's a natural consequence of the connection. GFR is looking to MU to offer some training to those players and the association will get them a quicker look. In the end, all DA teams will generally pick the best players from the overall pool of girls looking to play for it. MU will likely also form a closer connection with its other partners too.

I'm not sure it follows that the connection means girls at the partner clubs actually have a leg up. That might be true if something about the partnership actually increased the quality of the training at the member clubs or the member clubs were somehow able to attract more talented players as a result of it. But taking Potomac as an example, they have almost zero history of producing top girls players, and the same leadership there has been in place for years. Is this partnership really going to make any meaningful difference in the number of girls there that end up at MU? I can't imagine someone who was on track to be on an ECNL team or other high level team deciding to switch to Potomac because they thought it would help their odds. They'll just wait and see how ECNL pans out and move to MU if they prefer it and can play at that level.

GFR may have a better track record of success. I know nothing about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a newbie, please be kind. Does this mean that we have better chances of making Mu Da team if we played for GFR’s top team from u9-U12s?

I think in the long run, probably. It's a natural consequence of the connection. GFR is looking to MU to offer some training to those players and the association will get them a quicker look. In the end, all DA teams will generally pick the best players from the overall pool of girls looking to play for it. MU will likely also form a closer connection with its other partners too.

I'm not sure it follows that the connection means girls at the partner clubs actually have a leg up. That might be true if something about the partnership actually increased the quality of the training at the member clubs or the member clubs were somehow able to attract more talented players as a result of it. But taking Potomac as an example, they have almost zero history of producing top girls players, and the same leadership there has been in place for years. Is this partnership really going to make any meaningful difference in the number of girls there that end up at MU? I can't imagine someone who was on track to be on an ECNL team or other high level team deciding to switch to Potomac because they thought it would help their odds. They'll just wait and see how ECNL pans out and move to MU if they prefer it and can play at that level.

GFR may have a better track record of success. I know nothing about it.

It really depends. I have seen the whole gambit. I have seen clubs prefer A team players from other clubs rather than raise up their own B teams. I have seen feeder clubs have a real track record of feeding into the program and not. So far, except maybe the very youngest incoming team (the 06s) maybe, the bulk come from other area ECNL, DA, and top players looking for a top level option,

[Anonymous]

From what I gather, MU is forming a real partnership. They are investing in helping those programs develop better and then MU is going to be the option for the very top performers if any are DA level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a newbie, please be kind. Does this mean that we have better chances of making Mu Da team if we played for GFR’s top team from u9-U12s?

I think in the long run, probably. It's a natural consequence of the connection. GFR is looking to MU to offer some training to those players and the association will get them a quicker look. In the end, all DA teams will generally pick the best players from the overall pool of girls looking to play for it. MU will likely also form a closer connection with its other partners too.

I'm not sure it follows that the connection means girls at the partner clubs actually have a leg up. That might be true if something about the partnership actually increased the quality of the training at the member clubs or the member clubs were somehow able to attract more talented players as a result of it. But taking Potomac as an example, they have almost zero history of producing top girls players, and the same leadership there has been in place for years. Is this partnership really going to make any meaningful difference in the number of girls there that end up at MU? I can't imagine someone who was on track to be on an ECNL team or other high level team deciding to switch to Potomac because they thought it would help their odds. They'll just wait and see how ECNL pans out and move to MU if they prefer it and can play at that level.

GFR may have a better track record of success. I know nothing about it.

Kids with promise tend to leave clubs like Stoddert and Potomac for clubs with a pathway. These partnerships are not about kids in middle and high school ages. These partnerships are about kids at U9 to U12 where Metro can have access to the player pool. If people feel a U little program offers a leg up into a DA or ECNL club those parents will seek the clubs out.

If the partnerships are strong and viable Metro coaches will offer curriculum and guidance to the partner clubs regarding development and player ID.

Three relatively mid sized clubs can certainly produce enough players to form a quality player pool.

[Anonymous]

Seems like it would've made more sense for GFR to partner with some combination of Herndon, VYS, SYA...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like it would've made more sense for GFR to partner with some combination of Herndon, VYS, SYA...?

I think actually MU has more promise. It's a higher level pathway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like it would've made more sense for GFR to partner with some combination of Herndon, VYS, SYA...?

Why? None of those clubs have a DA level pathway. The whole point for these 3 clubs is to partner with a club that has a top level pathway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I gather, MU is forming a real partnership. They are investing in helping those programs develop better and then MU is going to be the option for the very top performers if any are DA level.

I'm skeptical about how much MU could do to help improve the level at some of these clubs given all the area competition, but it would be great if they succeeded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The personal attacks and some political rhetoric is not necessary. Take it somewhere else please. Isn't there enough bickering without it.

Have you seen the questions and answers on here? Do you not wonder how these people reach these conclusions? Why things are this hard to understand?

How do these people drive cars much less figure out if their kid has the tactical awareness to play the game vs them just giving money to coaches so they can run drills on the field every weekend and try to out athlete the other team? Seriously. How? Because that should be the only discussion. But lets argue about a possible commute for a family/player we know nothing about.

God you are toxic.

Thats toxic? Impatience with ignorant complaints and concerns? By all means continue on your journey of getting no real information while you talk and read yourself dizzy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I gather, MU is forming a real partnership. They are investing in helping those programs develop better and then MU is going to be the option for the very top performers if any are DA level.

I'm skeptical about how much MU could do to help improve the level at some of these clubs given all the area competition, but it would be great if they succeeded.

I think player movement is real. I remember when Loudoun had some of the best teams. Times change. Players will migrate to where they think can take them where they want to go overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The personal attacks and some political rhetoric is not necessary. Take it somewhere else please. Isn't there enough bickering without it.

Have you seen the questions and answers on here? Do you not wonder how these people reach these conclusions? Why things are this hard to understand?

How do these people drive cars much less figure out if their kid has the tactical awareness to play the game vs them just giving money to coaches so they can run drills on the field every weekend and try to out athlete the other team? Seriously. How? Because that should be the only discussion. But lets argue about a possible commute for a family/player we know nothing about.

God you are toxic.

Thats toxic? Impatience with ignorant complaints and concerns? By all means continue on your journey of getting no real information while you talk and read yourself dizzy.

Your are a little black cloud.

[Anonymous]

Some people spew a lot of intensity. I don't like forum bullies, whether they are for a club or against it. Be adults. If an argument is valid, it doesn't need aggression to prove its point.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda, McLean, and Arlington are so much closer. Why on Earth would anyone drive out to Reston on a weekday just to attend to practice when you could cut your commute in half for the same level of play